1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stop for immobilizing a furniture caster to stabilize a caster-mounted article of furniture, particularly hospital beds, and to the process of stabilizing caster-mounted furniture by immobilizing its casters by the use of such stops.
2. Prior Art
In the past, some casters have been equipped with toe brakes which can be rocked to apply a braking force to a caster wheel for deterring or preventing rotation of the wheel about its axle, but such toe brakes do not prevent the wheel from swiveling about its upright axis. Because the wheel axle is offset a substantial distance horizontally from the upright swivel axis of the caster, swiveling of the caster about its upright axis, even without any rotation of the caster wheel about its axis, will enable an article of caster-mounted furniture to be shifted a substantial distance. Moreover, such toe brakes are often difficult to manipulate and may not effect sufficient braking of a caster wheel to prevent all rotation of such caster wheel on its axis. Also, it is easy for such a brake to be released without authorization.
Another expedient which has been used to immobilize a caster is to place it in a caster cup, which is a disk having an upstanding marginal flange for receiving the caster loosely. Such cup usually does not prevent some shifting of the caster-mounted furniture article by rotation of the wheel about its axis to some extent and in addition does not prevent the wheel from swiveling about the axis of the caster. Again, therefore, the caster-mounted article of furniture can be shifted to some extent even though the caster cup does not slide along the floor.
Wheel chocks have been used for immobilizing wheels in the past, but such chocks are usually utilized for immobilizing large wheels and particularly such wheels as have a resilient surface. Use of wheel chocks for immobilizing small wheels is not really practical, particularly if the periphery of the caster wheel is hard and smooth and especially where such a caster wheel rests on a smooth surface. Under such circumstances a wheel chock would be unreliable for immobilizing a caster wheel such as that utilized in mounting a hospital bed.